AlterPoint Opens Channel Of Distribution

"Any sizable network has hundreds, if not truly thousands and thousands, of network devices,firewalls, routers, switches [and so forth]," said Rick Pleczko, vice president of marketing at AlterPoint, Austin, Texas. "And each has software configurations that define how it routes traffic and administration rights."

DeviceAuthority helps manage changes to those configurations so networks stay up and remain secure, he said.

"We were looking for a tool like this for a long time," said Scott Shelly, managing partner at Trinity Networks, a St. Louis-based solution provider. "[Customers] have done a lot of homegrown processes and procedures internally, but most people don't have a system in place to do what AlterPoint is providing."

AlterPoint previously sold only through its eight-member direct-sales force, which now will be compensated equally for sales that go direct and those that go through partners, Pleczko said.

The two-year-old vendor is offering lead sharing and free training and support to its three tiers of channel partners,Alliance, Preferred and Premier.

"If you're %85 looking for a product with very little competition that complements mainstream technology, which has become commoditized, this is a good place to look," said Roland Neaves, vice president of prod-

uct sales at Computer Solutions, a San Antonio-based solution provider.